The Greatest Magic
by JelisseArmada
Summary: When Lucy Heartfilia arrived at her guild, the least she'd expected was a certain dark-haired ice mage. Ironically, he melted her heart. GrayLu, with a hint of NaLi.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Light of The Ice

She stared at the fire, dazed, it blasting past her eyes as it consumed the wall of soldiers guarding her, leaving a trail of ash and smoke as they were incapacitated.

"Natsu…?"

"Lucy! Thank God you're safe!" her fellow guild members Erza and Natsu came running towards her. She struggled against her bonds, wanting nothing more than to break free and hug the people she had closest to her heart.

'Ow…' she thought to herself. The bonds were made of some kind of material that were impossible to cut through or burn through, with Natsu's fire or Erza's swords. What if you froze them though…? Where was an ice mage when you needed one? Lucy thought in frustration.

"Don't worry Lucy, I'm sure Gray's around here somewhere in this manor. He'll get out alright, let's get you back to the guild first, so you can rest and recuperate." Erza being the wise one already had a plan thought out.

"Yeah, that ice-boy ding dong's gonna have to answer to me if he doesn't get back soon enough! I'm gonna punch through his thick skull, and drive it through with-" Natsu stopped his empty threats, as Gray came blasting through his face with a zero degree temperatured fist.

"Sorry I wasn't around soon enough Lucy. I was looking for the creep who kidnapped you. He's all tied up now." Gray gestured carelessly behind him, to a greasy-looking old man, frozen in a block of ice, who despite his evil intentions before actually looked quite harmless. He wore an simple white robe, trimmed with gold detail. His frozen expression was that of sheer terror, as Gray had probably managed to produce from his freezing of the old man.

Gray. The one person she could count on, always. The one person she could rely on and at the same time keep as a friend to laugh and hang around with. When she'd first met him, he'd appealed to her as someone special in all terms, someone she could relate to the most, someone who was her friend as well as mentor in magic and other dealings of her world, and most of all someone permanently stuck to her, as all her life she'd never felt any secureness in any kind of connections due to her ruins of a past. They had bonded slowly over time, and she liked spending time with him, more and more.

Chink! He'd frozen her bonds and they broke off in half. She wringed her wrists, pushing the blood circulation back to normal and feeling not so constricted as she was when she was bound and kept prisoner for the past 24 hours by the creepy old man. She gripped his hand in a sign of thanks and smiled, "Thanks Gray. I owe you." He smiled back, his usually cold expression bursting into a ray of warm light, dancing across his handsome features, so carefree and at the same time almost melancholy, like she reminded him of something sad.

Lucy meant the world to him, as much as he didn't want to admit it. He liked everything about her when he first met her, especially the fact that she seemed to be the only normal one in the guild, compared to the other weirdos in the guild, such as a certain fire-for-brains pink-haired idiot and a few talking cats. He liked how she smiled, he liked how she looked so effortlessly breathtakingly beautiful all the time, he liked how she treated everyone around her with kindness and fairness, regardless of her former status as the daughter of a rich businessman. You didn't find these girls every good century, his former tutor Ur would say.

A girl is still just a girl… he thought to himself. Even so, she enlightened him with each movement she made, everything she did transfixed him in a way. She was his northern wind, his graceful beauty with a butt-kicking side.

"Gray? Let's go already. It's getting dark. What on earth are you staring at?" Erza woke him to his senses. He'd been thinking too much again, he sighed to himself as he walked along with everyone else, unconsciously slipping his shirt on and off repeatedly.

Lucy is just a girl, he told himself. You aren't good enough for her. She could have any pick of a guy, she's definitely good enough. Anyone that tells her otherwise will have to answer to me… he satisfied himself in that thought. He could always be her protector, regardless of whether she felt the same way about him or not. Her feelings about him were another whole story, in that matter.

"Gray! Don't take off your boxers as well! Aaargh!" came the yells of Natsu and Happy. He was strolling the roads almost naked without realising. He really did ought to try and stop this habit… he smiled sheepishly to himself as he slipped his clothes back on in a flash before the police arrested him for public disgracement.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Love and Luck

It was half past one. Gray strolled down the streets, hands in his pockets, absorbed in his thoughts. Without realizing, he'd reached the street where Lucy's house was located. He stopped just in front of her door.

"Lucy…"

He felt like standing there, outside her door, just to sort of be with her as close as he could without being intrusive. He could not deny that he wanted the stellar spirit mage. But he knew that he wasn't the best for her. Not with his stripper attitude, and his couldn't-care-less stance. He still thought she only had eyes for Natsu. Natsu, the Dragonslayer mage. Fire-breathing, ever so powerful, he'd always been slightly jealous of Natsu's powers. He sometimes wished he could switch places with the fire boy and enjoy his seemingly unlimited powers. Ice sculpting was undeniably cool and fun, but he knew that Natsu was more powerful than him in many ways, even in love. He knew he never stood a chance with Lucy, not while Natsu was around.

Oh well. so much for love.

"You!" a drunken man, no doubtedly personally troubled and so mistaking Gray as a rival, unwittingly hurling a beer bottle at Gray from behind, and Gray absorbed in his thoughts hadn't thought of defending any attacks coming from any passer-bys.

The bottle struck Gray on the back of his head, there was a crashing sound, and all went black for him as Gray fell, unconscious, onto the dirty street grounds.

The drunken man kept walking, humming a tune to himself cheerfully as he thought he'd extinguished his so called 'rival'.

Lucy was up at midnight, even though she was supposed to be asleep by then to be ready for her mission with Gray the next day. They saw a simple job of collecting some fruits from a valley somewhere near Magnolia, with a reasonably high reward. They didn't think that Erza and Natsu were necessary for such a simple mission, and they would probably turn the mission upside down anyway, so they'd decided to go on their own.

Besides, it would be nice to be with Gray again. She'd missed his company rather a lot after the kidnapping incident by the old man. She thought of how he had dealt with the kidnapper afterward, interrogating him with the dangerous demeanour of his, causing the old man to admit many things, some of which Lucy wished she hadn't heard.

"Where did you come from? Who hired you to kidnap Lucy?" Gray thundered.

The old man refused to say.

"I am bound by loyalty, and heavy payment." He waggled his eyebrows at Gray. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do, because within seconds Gray had formed a dagger with his ice magic and pointed it straight at his throat.

"I'm suggesting you tell me every last ounce of information you have, down to every detail if not I swear I will run you through with this knife." To prove his point, Gray stabbed his dagger straight through the metal table placed in the guild's interrogation room, creating a clean hole through the table.

The old man gulped.

"Alright, alright, jeez…. I took your little girlfriend because her old man told me to. Okay? He said something about a reconcilement and a few old friends he wanted her to meet… he said he'd give me a house and a whole truckload of cash. He didn't mention she had a murderous boyfriend watching out for her. All I wanted was the reward, that's all; I needed the money, nothing personal…"

"she's not my girlfriend you idiot."

Just for a dramatic effect, Gray stabbed another hole in the table just to scare the old man out of his wits for trying to take Lucy. _I mean, did he really think he was gonna succeed? Not while I'm around_, he sneered.

"Is that all? If not… you know the rules around here." Gray casually molded another knife and started juggling them with his bare hands. He winked at the old man.

The old man fainted with terror.

Lucy had almost laughed at the sight… to imagine Gray had such a terrifying side to him. She shuddered a little. _Thank God he's on my side in this_, she thought to herself.

"_Reconcilement. A few old friends he wanted her to meet_…" the old man's words rang through her head.

She should've known this was a plot involving her father. She honestly didn't know how they were related. Lucy was like the total opposite of her father. She was kind, caring, and heartfelt in whatever she did. Her father was a cruel, scheming heartless business man. His priorities were money and power, whereas Lucy's were friendship and thinking with your heart. It seemed like the love inside him had died along with her mother, ten years ago.

She felt her heart ache with longing for Layla Heartfilia, her beautiful loving mother. She missed her mother more than anything else in the world. But she had to focus on the present; she knew she couldn't be the type of person who moped to stay in the past. _The past is a good place to visit, a bad place to stay_, she chided herself. She had to focus on the present… especially since it involved a certain dark-haired mage who probably didn't have a clue on how she felt about him.

_He's so gorgeous, and such a good soul_, she thought to herself_. I'm such a dumb, careless girl, he'd never fall for me. He probably likes Juvia. At least she shows how much she likes him. I'd never have that kind of courage. _

And yet, she adored him so much…

She sighed and stared at her table. There was a picture of all four of them, Erza, Natsu, Lucy and Gray, along with Happy of course. It was from after one of their best times together, the time they'd stayed at a resort together for awhile. It was an intended holiday, but had turned into a mission; with her discovering Loke was actually a spirit, and not a human. (It didn't really surprise her, Loke looked a little like a lion anyway.)

_Gray… _

The sound of breaking glass and a yell broke her stream of thoughts.

Lucy ran outside to find the man who'd been stealing space in her thoughts lying sprawled across the street, with a broken bottle lying next to him. He wasn't harmed, but he was knocked out cold. She sighed and laughed to herself. Streets were often rowdy at this time of the night. It wasn't uncommon to have drunkards roaming around and creating havoc. What a coincidence that he so happened to be outside her door when she was thinking of him.

Gray awoke in a soft bed, surrounded by a basin of warm water and a cloth which was probably used to wipe his face and to the sweet smell of warm liquid cocoa prepared by

"Lucy?"

The blonde turned around and smiled at him. She was standing at the kitchen, wearing a cute little apron and mittens on her hands.

"Hello Gray. I found you outside my house last night… I decided to let you stay here for the night because of the mission today anyway. Breakfast?" she held up a mug of cocoa and pointed to the table where a stack of fluffy pancakes were awaiting.

"Sounds good." He chuckled to himself and was bemused at his luck that he could wake up to this beautiful angel of a girl making him breakfast.

If only it could always be like this…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Discovery of the Unknown

Plonk! Lucy fell flat on her face.

"Ouch!" she cried.

She had tripped over a tree root. She and Gray were on their said mission to go to the Valleys of Fiore and collect some kind of special fruit as it fetched a high value of sale to the person who had hired them both. The reward was a good measure of 50 000 jewels. Just for picking some fruits, Lucy had felt this was too good an opportunity to waste. She needed to pay her rent.

She got to her feet and continued hiking through the forests that were positioned along the way through the valleys. There were many forms of nature in the valley, ranging from caves to forests to lakes and rivers. She hoped they could come across a source of water so she could wash and rest for the night. As a girl, she felt a little filthy from all the forest trekking and falling down she'd done for almost the whole day…

"Here." Gray pointed towards a forest clearing. Up ahead, about five kilometres away was a visible lake and a clearing where they could set up a camp and take rest. Lucy kept up behind him with renewed strength.

The mission so far had been rather quiet. Gray had woken up this morning with his usual sullen demeanour, thanked her rather unwillingly for sheltering him that night and the two had eaten breakfast without particular conversation. His being quiet on the mission was nothing out of sorts, since he'd always been the silent one when it came to socializing.

Honestly, Lucy was a little disappointed that he didn't want to engage in conversation. Usually it took awhile and he would tell her little things that were happening, things like how he and Natsu had gone head to head in another fight or Elfman accusing him of not being manly enough by taking his shirt off so much…

Lucy smiled to herself despite being exhausted physically and a tiny bit frustrated emotionally because of Gray's not unusual silence. She knew she was probably thinking too much, as Gray was never the type to really engage in conversation with anyone at all. But when they were together, he did seem like a different person sometimes… maybe it was just her who thought otherwise. She made a mental note to stop expecting so much from Gray. _After all, he's just a boy, and that's how boys are. Boys will never understand anything, _she thought disappointingly.

Gray stared at the red flames of the campfire. Lucy was in her tent, probably resting or reading a book like she always did. Gray had thought of how pretty she had looked today, how her alabaster skin contrasted so prettily with her warm brown eyes and pale blonde hair. He admitted he had missed her presence whilst she was kidnapped by the weird old man. Her eyes shone with some kind of vigour under the sun as she hiked through the forest behind him, he had observed throughout the whole day. It both intimidated and enlightened him.

"Gray? Are you still up?" Lucy's blonde head popped out of her tent. "I'm a little hungry…" she fidgeted with her fingers as she made her request.

He kicked himself for not bringing the blonde mage's favourite food, chocolate éclairs along with him during the trip even though he could've easily gotten some at the Magnolia Bakery. He made a mental note to treat her to better conditionings the next time he whisked her off on a mission.

"Is fish alright Luce? I think I could catch some salmon from the lake and we could grill them over the fire."

He had called her Luce, and that made her a sunny kind of warm inside. She longed for his affection deep down; she just didn't know whether to pursue it or leave it.

"Fish sounds great."

"Good. Cause I probably couldn't find you anything else to eat." He teased her. She laughed and went back to reading her book inside her tent. "Call me when its done." She smiled at him and retreated into the mouth of her tent.

_Anything for you, Luce… _he strolled down to the lake and froze the entire contents, walking on the surface till he'd decided on which fish he wanted to give Lucy for a meal. He wanted the best for her, if nothing more. He saw a big fresh fish frozen in the water and he cut it out of the water, still frozen in its daze. He took the chunk of ice out of the water and unfreezed the lake, turning it back to its normal state.

Hours later, Gray had successfully grilled the salmon and was now sharing it with Lucy over the campfire. She was quiet as she ate her salmon, all she had said was a thank you for his efforts. She had prepared some hot chocolate over the fire and they were drinking it along with their meal. Gray had always liked her hot chocolate. She never put any sugar and that was how he liked it, bittersweet. He silently prayed that his salmon wasn't cooked so bad that she couldn't even say anything about it.

Lucy was astonished that Gray could season salmon so well. She hadn't even guessed that he'd brought a spice rack along with him for the mission. Venturing into nature's stronghold, they couldn't exactly expect to find restaurants anywhere in the fray. She'd been so at a loss for words that this ice boy could cook this so well that she only had a stutter of a thank you and ate her food quietly. As a kind gesture she'd made some hot chocolate for the both of them, as if she was trying to show him that she wasn't inferior to his cooking skills. She knew she couldn't cook like that.

"Gray, why are you so quiet lately?"

"Hmm?" the ice mage looked up from his cup. He was embarrassed and panicking that Lucy had noticed. He wanted to kick himself, he had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he forgot that the very person he'd been thinking about was right next to him and perfectly capable of sensing his actions (or rather, a lack of them).

"No reason, I was just… reminiscing on our old missions." He stuttered.

"Any mission in particular?" she gave a slight smile.

Gray's heart warmed even more as the celestial spirit mage smiled. He thought she was cute when she smiled.

"The time where we had to fight the Phantom Lord? And the Element Four? That was some crazy action back there huh, don't you think? And not to mention weird. Like, uh, Juvia…" he shuddered a little remembered the water woman's infatuation with him. It wasn't that he didn't like her, it was just she was everywhere, all the time, around him, and that creeped him out like crazy.

Lucy laughed. "Hey! Don't talk about Juvia like that. It's obvious, she's crazy about you, yeah, but she has good intentions. You're a good guy Gray. It shows she has good taste." She wondered whether she had said too much. The hot chocolate must be getting to her… she felt dizzy and lightheaded in a good way. Perhaps she'd better go and sleep…

"You really think so? But look at Natsu, the guy cares a lot for you… what do you think of him Luce?" It pained his heart to say the words, but he knew deep down Lucy could never be his. So why bother when all that was gonna happen was rejection and hurt?

"I honestly don't know why you like implying that. He's a great friend, and he's always saving my ass, but you and Erza do that too, and Natsu's not exactly boyfriend material, is he?…" chortled Lucy in reply. "He's a nice person I guess, but nothing more than that. I can reassure you." She stuck her tongue out at Gray. Why on earth was he thinking of her and Natsu… just no okay. Some things were better off left unknown.

"Besides… you'll always have my back right?" she tried to make herself sound casual in a nonchalant way.

Gray gazed at her with an unreadable expression.

"You really think so, Lucy?"

He stared at her, and for once she didn't hesitate to stare back. Those beautiful dark eyes of his penetrated her gaze and she felt petrified, if possibly in a good way.

"Who's the most important person in your life, Lucy? Tell me. I wanna know." asked Gray quietly. He felt a sudden urge to ask her. He didn't want to keep quiet and hide in his silence anymore. He didn't care whether she rejected him or not. He just needed to know. The sensible part of him that usually got him out of fights was telling him to get his head checked and stop the nonsense immediately before the damage was done.

"Gray, I… I..." Lucy was at a loss for words. She didn't now what to say. The poor girl simply had no idea what he was asking. They were both fatigued and drained physically and mentally from hiking through the forests; no doubt this was taking a toll on their senses as well because in normal circumstances a situation like this would've never happened.

They were so caught up in the moment they hadn't noticed the rustling sounds coming from the bushes surrounding them.

Gray moved closer to Lucy. She found herself unable to do anything but stare into his eyes, completely mesmerized by the beautiful midnight blue they were, her body paralysed.

Gray put his palms on her cheeks. She felt her skin tingle, like she was electrified, a million volts of electricity leaving her body tingling in sensation.

_In that moment, she decided she wanted_ _him._

Her face came closer to his. Her arms looped around his neck in the rush. His arms moved down from her face to her waist. He had never wanted anything else more in his life than the moment that they were having right there.

He wanted to lick her silken soft lips with his tongue, to touch her body and make her moan and groan with pleasure, feel her warm soft flesh against his, knowing that she would be his to hold and cherish…

"_Lucy…_"

"_Gray…_"

They were just seconds from the kiss…

Out of the blue, a figure jumped out from behind the bushes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Of Monsters and Men

"What the hell are the two of you doing?!"

"What the-" spluttered Gray and Lucy. They pulled away from each other immediately. Gray fell off the log they were sitting on in panic. Plonk!

"Ouch, my ass."

"Who gives a damn about your ass? What were you trying to do to Lucy?"

"Natsu! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"You're ignoring my question droopy!"

Lucy stared at Natsu and then looked at Gray, for a brief moment they locked eyes and then she stared at the floor, dazed and confused by whatever had just happened. Did she really almost kiss Gray Fullbuster? And what was Natsu doing here?

"Natsu? What on earth are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be helping master with the guild matters or something? But even if you weren't why did you follow us? Can't you see we're busy? Doesn't Lisanna want you to be at Fairy Tail with her?" Lucy was on one of those rants where she had to keep talking in order to keep her mind straight, because currently her brain was turning into mush from too many thoughts in her head.

Natsu tried to process his already slow brain through what he had just seen. He had decided on following them a few hours after they had left as he found staying in town rather boring because there was nothing to do and Erza had gone with Gildarts on an S-class mission so there was no dragging her along on a new mission anyway. (Lisanna was a whole other story though, not to be told any time here.) He figured Gray and Lucy might have gotten bored of each other since they never really talked, not in front of him or the guild anyway.

Natsu had no idea how much time the two had really spent together quietly, Gray casually visited Lucy and vice versa for chats and so called favours which were actually just excuses to spend time together. But Natsu had no idea, and in his defence neither did anyone else so it wasn't entirely because of his density that he was dumbfounded.

So why was it that they seemed to almost be locking lips when he found them? _What was it that he didn't know? Did anyone else know? _Natsu wondered to himself. He didn't want Lucy to himself though. Nothing like that. He just didn't think Gray was good enough for Lucy. (cue the bells for stupidity ringing, who wouldn't want Gray)

Gray was pissed off. He had been this bloody close to making out with the girl of his dreams. It just had to be that the idiot fire-breather decided to come and join them.

He stole a glance at Lucy. She was flushed with nervousness and was fidgeting around with her hands. Had she wanted this as much as him? Why did she look so confused? Was this the right thing to do? Was it just in the moment of passion that it happened or was it something more? Questions were forming in his head and he couldn't seem to find answers to any of them.

Lucy was wondering whether Gray had intentionally wanted the kiss. What if the kiss was just because he was a horny guy stuck in the woods with her? What if he hadn't felt the same way she did before it happened? Everything was spinning in her head. She really had no idea what to think… and of all times why did Natsu have to be such a douche? Coming here for no reason just to cut into her and Gray's time together… he really was a pain in the arse sometimes.

Lucy woke up with eye bags and bad hair. Just perfect. After the disastrous first day of her and Gray's mission where Natsu had popped up all of sudden, and the almost-kiss which had happened, and Gray's weird attitude towards her after.

"So where do I sleep?" Natsu had asked.

"ME! I mean, with me. Sleep in my tent. Chop chop! Lights out. Goodnight Luce."

She barely had time to acknowledge the goodnight before he had dragged Natsu into his tent and shut out everything else.

She had sighed at his awkwardness. Feeling somewhat disappointed and let down, she climbed into her tent and had tried to sleep.

Gray…

She knew she shouldn't have expected so much of him. No way he was gonna acknowledge how she felt about him, moreover show it in front of Natsu. What had she expected, a full time relationship proposal in front of Natsu?

Not gonna happen, not anytime soon.

She had propped herself up all night thinking of what could've happened if Natsu hadn't have barged in. As a result, she now felt and looked like a sleepy panda.

Gray had woken up without saying a word, packed up camp and waited for her to get up. When he saw that she was up, he only said two words to her:

"Let's go."

She felt crushed by his cold attitude towards her. The Gray today was so unlike the Gray from yesterday.

Was this because of her?

Boys. Always like this. She sighed to herself. She would just have to make it through this mission then. After the mission, she decided she would head back to Fairy Tail and avoid Gray for as long as possible.

She knew he didn't want her.

Gray knew he wasn't good enough for her. He had already decided the kiss was just what had happened in the heat of the moment. He would never be able to call Lucy his, _not while Natsu was around_ he thought, and now that Natsu had shown up it was probably a sign that he should back off Lucy.

He didn't want to admit it, but he felt like avoiding Lucy was hurting him too, like he was deliberately pushing knives slowly into his heart. It hurt like hell.

If only he knew.

He had no idea at all how Lucy Heartfilia truly felt about him.

Lucy had decided to herself, boys were all monsters deep down. Insensitive, idiots of monsters. Gray had just decided to ignore her, and that action had hurt her to the very depths of her heart. She had no idea how she would get by this, but she was determined that she would somehow. _You have to be strong Lucy, you can do this_, she told herself.

She was clueless why Gray was really avoiding her.

If only she knew.

Natsu on the other hand, was just confused why they were both acting like this. _Did I_ _interrupt something?_ He wondered. But then he decided they would both get back to normal soon enough. Then everything would be okay again.

Oh, our dear Natsu.

He didn't know that things would never be the same again between the ice mage and the blonde girl.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Don't Let Me Go

"Found it!" Natsu called out to Gray and Lucy.

They reached the Valleys of Fiore. They had commenced a search for the fruit which resembled apricots but were a pale pink in colour, a bit like tiny peaches. They grew in pale yellow bushes, with poisonous leaves, so you had to be careful when picking the fruits, otherwise a touch could be the end of you.

The fruits were rare and were known to have healing properties, and they fetched high prices in the market, the prices could go up to 300 jewels per fruit. For a reward of 50 000 jewels, it was quite worth it. They only had to pick about a basketful.

Besides, Lucy would take picking fruits over destroying everything in their midst while battling a huge monster any day. Maybe for once she could actually get the full payment instead of having to pay any recess damage charges…

Everything had gone almost perfect. The mission was progressing fast enough. All they had to do was pick the fruits.

_Almost perfect… _

Lucy wished that was how she and Gray were progressing. They hadn't spoken at all since the great incident that had happened the previous night.

She was well aware of Natsu's confusion with the both of them and Gray's purposeful avoidance of anything that could lead to him having to converse with her.

She just wanted to get the mission over with so she could get back to the guild and probably never see or talk to Gray ever again. Not after his coldness towards her. She didn't want to hurt herself any more than she had already done.

The damage was done and there, blaring loud and clear for her to see; he didn't want any memory of the previous night recalled, not in the present, and not ever.

Gray didn't want to make a scene. He just wanted to get the mission over with. After which he would just go back to the guild, probably drink off his sorrow and maybe pick a few fights with Natsu or Gajeel to throw off his anger, which was mainly directed at himself and his wounded pride when he had seen that Lucy clearly didn't want anything to do with him or any matter of the previous night.

To her, it might have just been in the heat of the moment. But for him, he bitterly wished he had gotten the guts to tell her how he felt about her. He also wished his intentions of kissing her hadn't been nullified by Natsu.

Natsu could tell something was up between the two of them. He half wished he'd never come butting in on this mission. He should've just stayed at home and played cards with Happy or something. Now Gray and Lucy couldn't even look at each other and even he could tell it was his fault.

He made a mental note to make more observation on the two potential lovebirds next time. Now that he thought about it (something that he should do more often, no doubt about that) he had actually seen bits and pieces of a potential love story going on between the two.

How could he have not seen it? He kicked himself for not knowing. Now they were stuck in this… situation. And it was his entire fault. If they didn't go back to usual (or whatever they were before), he swore he would never forgive himself.

Somehow, he had to fix this. The fumbling, clueless Natsu Dragneel would have to fix it.

Lucy reached out to pick a fruit. It came off its stem with a soft plucking sound. She turned around to put it into her basket.

Suddenly, a hissing sound came out of nowhere. Lucy didn't hear it.

Behind her, a figure rose out of the bushes.

"You… are… mine…" the figure hissed.

It raised a hand, ready to strike Lucy.

Hearing something, Lucy turned around.

Gray saw what was going to happen, horrified. He ran towards her like it was the last thing he could do.

"LUCY, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" he yelled.

Gray leaped in front of Lucy with his arms spread open in front of her to protect her.

A fleeting thought of his mother shielding him the same way when he was a child to protect him from the monster Deliora came to his mind.

_So this is what love feels like, he mused to himself._

The figure hissed and struck him, annoyed.

Lucy watched, horrified and wide-eyed, as the figure struck him and Gray fell on top of the bushes.

The figure hissed venomously and slid away into the shadows. Lucy gaped at it open mouthed. Gray… had he just saved her?

_Poisonous leaves_! she remembered suddenly. Terror rose inside her like smoke.

"GRAY!" she shrieked. She ran to his side and watched him in horror.

He lied on the ground, writhing in pain.

His skin was deadly pale. His breathing was uneven, his body shaking uncontrollably. On his carelessly handsome features was a contorted face of pain. He shivered like he was cold.

Lucy felt beyond miserable and helpless as Natsu rushed off to find the nearest healer. Tears streaked down her face as she watched the life sap slowly out of the boy she loved too dear to ever lose.

Gray reached out a hand to touch her face. He couldn't bear to see her cry. He couldn't even find the strength to touch her. He pushed himself to reach her anyway. He wanted her to be the last thing he touched and looked at.

He gazed into her hazel eyes that had too many tears in them. He wanted to brush those tears away.

_Is this what dying feels like?_ He wondered.

_If I'm going to die, maybe I should tell her I love her… I just want to look at her as I go… I'd die in happiness, looking at my beautiful angel, I love her so much. If I had the choice, I'd never leave her again. _

"_Lucy…"_

He touched her porcelain face. He wiped away her tears.

_Tears streaked down his face in a tragic melodic symphony and she felt her heart shatter and fall to the ground beneath her feet in a million tiny shards. Her world was ripping itself apart.. Were the gods playing tricks on them? She couldn't bear even the thought of losing him. Not when he was the one her heart truly wanted. She loved him too much to think of that._

_What did she just say?_

_She loved him! She truly loved him. _

_All the times they'd spent together… she decided in that moment, she would not lose him. _

Never again, would she let him go.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – The Greatest of All

She gripped his hand and held his head close to her chest. She smoothed his hair off his face and whispered to him, trying to soothe him with words of comfort. She could only hope Natsu would be along with a healer soon.

"It's going to be alright Gray… Natsu's getting a healer as we speak. Shhh. I need you to stay with me. Don't go. It'll be alright. You're gonna be fine." She wondered whether she was soothing herself or Gray more, because it felt like she needed to reassure herself somehow that Gray was not going to leave her.

She wouldn't let him die. Not after all he'd done for her. He'd saved her life countless times. He made her smile and laugh when she was sad. She had to return the favour, at least once…

"Come on Natsu… hurry up…" she urged. She couldn't bear to just sit there and watch Gray like this. Her heart would never survive it.

"I'm sorry… Lucy…"

Gray managed to breathe out some words under his constricted, uneven breathing. Watching him like that, Lucy started to sob. This was all her fault.

"Shhh. You haven't done anything. If anything I should be the one to apologise…" sniffled Lucy. She blamed herself for Gray's condition. If only she'd summoned Leo or one of her celestial spirits to keep watch on them, this would have surely never happened.

"Lucy… not… your… fault… I… wanted to... have to… save you."

"Oh Gray…" she touched his face and gazed into his eyes, with the utmost of tenderness and love showing in her expression. She pressed her lips against his cold, clammy, sweat-covered forehead.

"If… I die…" he was having difficulty breathing. "Promise me… you'll be okay…. Don't let… anyone hurt you… inside, or… outside." He gasped for breath like it was going to be his last.

He had trouble focusing his eyes on her face.

Beautiful Lucy Heartfilia. He didn't want to die on her. Although, if he was going to die while looking at her, it wouldn't be so bad… he chuckled to himself. Funny how he could actually find something to laugh about while in this condition. As if fate had heard his thoughts, he coughed out some blood and it dripped down the corner of his mouth.

He felt as pitiful as he looked.

He felt tears come to his eyes as he watched Lucy's expression. She looked like she was on the verge of breaking into a million pieces.

He had only seen that expression once before; his mentor Ur had worn it whenever she was alone, thinking of her daughter Ultear. It was a mixture of pure grief spilling out, and strength to keep it together.

He felt guilty for making her feel this way. The one girl he had loved in his entire life, and he couldn't even protect her anymore.

Lucy felt her heart break to the point where it wasn't quite humanely possible anymore.

Gray was about to die, and she couldn't do anything about it.

The one boy she had loved in her entire life span of seventeen years, and she couldn't save him from death. Was fate always this cruel?

All for a bunch of healing fruit…

Wait a second.

Healing fruit?

She wanted to smack herself across the face a million times for the stupidity she'd shown. She wasn't even worthy of being called a mage if she couldn't even display this kind of common sense.

And to think that Natsu or Gray hadn't thought of it. But then again, Natsu was Natsu, and Gray was incapacitated so he wouldn't have thought of anything at all anyway. She wanted to kick herself.

Why didn't she think of it in the first place?!

"Gray! That's it! The fruit!" she scrambled to her basket and grabbed a bunch of them.

Since he was no condition to chew the fruit, Lucy quickly summoned Virgo to turn the bunch of fruit into an antidote. In no time, Virgo had it ready.

Gray chuckled to himself quietly as Lucy scrambled around getting the antidote ready. That clever girl. She had saved his life. He really was lucky he had someone like her around so often. He made a mental note never to abandon her again. He would protect her, no matter what to cost.

Lucy was half sobbing as she ran towards Gray with the fruit antidote in a vial.

He laid on the ground, a crooked half grin on his face. He was still contorted with pain from the poison.

"You clever girl." He croaked. He gripped her fingers to show his affection.

"Shush. It's my fault you're in this condition anyway. My entire fault. Now drink it!"

She gently tipped the contents into his dry mouth and waited.

She kept quiet and prayed to the heavens that whoever was watching over them right now would let Gray heal in peace and possibly please save his life.

Slowly but gradually, the green tinge to his face faded. A deep sleep overtook him. He wasn't conscious, but he looked healthy enough. His usual pale complexion returned. The sweat on his face was gone. His breathing became even, and his expression was that of peace and relaxation.

Lucy sobbed in relief. To think that he could've died… because of her carelessness. She shuddered. She vowed to always take care of Gray. She would never leave him again.

Together, was what they would be, forever and always.

She put a blanket on his chest to cover him as he snoozed peacefully. She could wake him but she didn't want to. His fingers were still curled around hers.

She smiled at the sight. She could get used to this, she sighed...

Meanwhile, Gray was off dreaming of Lucy as usual. This time, they were lying down peacefully on a grassy hillside, gazing peacefully at the clear blue sky. It was a breathtaking sight, even if it was just a dream.

His arm was around her shoulders and her head rested on his shoulder. One of Lucy's arms was on his chest, and her other arm was hugging his waist. He felt so at home he felt tears coming because he had never felt this kind of peace since the death of Ur. _Could it always be like this_, he wondered?

In reality, Lucy gazed at Gray as he snoozed peacefully. She got a shock when she saw tears leaking from the boy's eyes (results of the dream) and he muttered in his sleep.

"Lucy…"

for a moment, his dark blue eyes opened and she saw his expression, that of a soft, happy face. He smiled at her lovingly. She smiled back, teary-eyed and wasted with emotion. He fell back into his slumber.

"Gray…" she whispered back. The amount of love in her voice astonished even herself.

To think that she could love someone with her whole entire being and soul. That was truly the greatest magic of all, she figured. Love made you someone's willing slave for life. Love made you think irrationally, but it also made a balance of your soul if the person you loved was right for you. It all depended on the person you were in love with.

And Lucy couldn't help but think, _I got a pretty good deal_, considering the snoozing ice mage in front of her was that person.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Happiness at Hold

"HO! SO YOU DO LIKE EACH OTHER!" Natsu had yelled when he saw the sight of the two mages, bodies intertwined and lying together on the grass, talking. They didn't bother hiding it anymore. "What's there to hide?" smirked Gray when Lucy had asked him whether they were going to hide their new relationship status from everyone in the guild.

Initially, he had gotten a shock when he'd rushed back with a healer and found Gray alive and well and thankfully unpoisoned. Lucy had then explained she had used the fruit to create an antidote to heal Gray. Natsu had truly felt like an idiot when he realized they hadn't needed a healer after all.

(The healer had left grudgingly, muttering about weirdos and fire breathing bastards in the forest pulling pranks on him and interrupting his peace of mind.)

They trudged their way back from the Valleys of Fiore, happily chatting together, the three of them. Gray held Lucy's hand the whole way back, and Natsu felt sort of happy for the ice-brained bastard who finally had the guts to tell a girl how he felt. _Good for him_, Natsu chuckled to himself. Maybe he would use it as motivation to finally ask Lisanna out. Maybe.

They took turns carrying the basket of healing fruit, and they were cautious as to not get attacked again as none of them wanted to get this close to death again. Gray's mind kept wandering back to the shadowy figure that he'd tackled, he wondered where it had come from and why it had wanted to attack Lucy. _Whoever it is, I will protect her, I don't care what anyone else says,_ he vowed to himself.

They finally reached the home of the person who had hired them to collect the fruit. A cute little wooden house, with colorful smoke billowing out of it's chimney. The door was painted a pretty shade of red, and it had a pretty bed of daisies decorating the front yard. Lucy thought it was the prettiest house she had ever seen.

They all raised eyebrows at each other as to who had hired them on such a peculiar mission.

Gray raised a hand and knocked on the door.

To their surprise, it was their dear guild member Mirajane who opened the door.

"Lucy! Gray! Natsu! You took up the mission I posted I see. Come in, come in..." Mirajane ushered them into her home. They all gaped at each other. They certainly hadn't expected... this.

Mirajane's house inside was as cheerful looking as the outside. The insides were painted a pale yellow, giving the house a glowing look. The fireplace was blazing with magical holographic fire, no doubt conjured by Mira's demon abilities. Something wonderful was cooking in the kitchen, it smelled of basil leaves and pot roast. Mira must've been making lunch for Elfman and Lisanna.

Speaking of Lisanna...

"Natsu?" Lisanna came down from the staircase, blushing at what she saw.

Natsu became tongue-tied and stuttery. He hurriedly straightened his scarf and the front of his coat. Gray caught Lucy's eye and they both burst out laughing at this amusing sight. They both were aware that Natsu was only like this in front of Lisanna.

"H-hey! Lisanna... how are you?" Natsu gave her a crooked grin. He gave a small wave.

_Shit, I must look horrible, if she looks _that_ speechless... _he worried.

"I- I'm good." Lisanna smiled at him shyly, climbed down the rest of the staircase and sat down next to Natsu on the sofa they were all seated on. They started conversation casually.

Lucy decided the two lovebirds should have some space and excused herself, pulling Gray to the kitchen where Mira was busying herself.

"Hey, Mira? Where do you want us to put the basket of fruit?" Lucy called.

"Oh, just put it on the table over there." Mira gestured to a rectangular table covered with an embroidered navy blue tablecloth.

Just then, Mirajane noticed Gray's arm around Lucy's waist and squealed with excitement.

"Gray! Lucy! You didn't tell me! Oh, congratulations!" she pointed at their obvious display of affection and started dancing around the kitchen.

"This deserves a celebration at the guild tonight. Apart from the success of your mission, of course..." Mira winked at the both of them. "which reminds me, your reward's in a leather pouch by the door. Anytime you want to leave, just take it along with you." Mira gave them a beaming smile. She felt very emulated that one of the potential couples in the guild had finally progressed to something beyond friends. She could tell that they were going to have a great time teasing this couple. She hummed cheerfully as she stirred her pot roast.

"which reminds us... we should really get going. Lucy's tired and needs to rest. We'll leave Natsu here though." Gray smiled wryly at Mira. She nodded in agreement and gave the both of them a thumbs-up.

"No problem. I'll make sure he has a good host to take care of him." she winked, pointing to Lisanna who was now in peals of laughter at a joke Natsu had told her.

Natsu looked over at Gray and Lucy, and caught both their eyes and gave them a crazy happy grin, no doubt he was thrilled he was having such a good time. Gray flashed him a thumbs-up and mouthed to Natsu, _looking good! _Natsu snorted and turned his attention back to Lisanna.

Gray and Lucy finally reached Magnolia. They stopped, outside of the guild.

"You ready?" he asked her nervously.

She entwined her fingers in his. "like you said, there's nothing to hide." she smiled mischievously and Gray felt his heart melt all over again looking at the angel of a girl that he finally got to call his own.

Maybe Ur was looking out for him after all, he thought to himself and smiled a hopeful little smile.

He tightened his grip on her fingers.

"well, its now or never." and he pushed open the doors of the guild to let them both enter.

As the doors of the guild opened, everybody looked up to stare at Gray and Lucy, who were holding hands and grinning nervously at everyone, obviously hoping for a not so raucous reaction from the guild. Alas, it was Fairy Tail, and you couldn't hope for a lack of reaction from this guild.

"SO YOU DO LIKE EACH OTHERRRR~" Happy the blue cat flew in the air, yelling at the both of them.

Juvia fainted on the spot.

Master Makarov winked at the both of them and said, "maybe we'll finally get to see some little mages running around the guild soon eh." Lucy felt her face turn a full force shade of pink.

"Lucy, eh? Not bad, very manly of you Gray." Elfman gave his solemn mark of approval, telling Gray how proud he was that Gray finally progressed along in his journey of manhood. Gray tried his best to keep a straight expression as Elfman lectured him on the importance of manliness while in the company of a woman.

The whole guild had erupted into a full scale party mode. Everyone was yelling at each other, "Look Gray finally had the balls to man up and tell her! Look!" Lucy had to answer a thousand questions from all the females in the guild, including Wendy and Erza, who looked rather shellshocked at such a sudden change in the two of them.

"So... what brought it on Gray?" Macao grinned at Gray wickedly. "be sure to take care of her, a woman like her is definitely a prize to keep... if you know what I mean." he winked at Gray. Gray felt his face turning hot, which was unusual because since he was an ice mage his body temperature was usually not above 20 degrees.

The new couple were bombarded with questions. The guild's celebration was in full swing. Beer and vodka were spilling out of tankards everywhere. Fights were enthusing thanks to uncollected bets on who would confess first.

Lucy placed her head on Gray's shoulder and he felt his blood rush to his heart as a thrill he always got around her erupted around his body. He put his arms around her waist and cuddled her close to his bare chest (his blue and white coat had mysteriously dissapeared in the rush of the guild's celebration.) Lucy felt warmth emancipate from Gray's chest, which was rather unusual because his skin was usually freezing cold.

"Isn't your skin supposed to be cold Gray?" she poked his chest playfully and looked up at him from where she was. Gray looked handsome from her view, the perfect angles of his cheekbones jutting out nicely, his dark hair gleaming softly from the glare of the sun, and his eyes were shining brightly from the fact that he was as happy as he could ever be.

Gray chortled down at her. "I guess you warm my heart so much even my skin is affected." he patted her head adoringly and placed his chin on the top of her head. He wished they could stay like this forever.

Lucy chuckled and blushed at his comment. _Who knew he was this romantic? _She mused happily.

Eventually, the two of them crept out of the guild to enjoy some peace and quiet outside.

Gray pulled her to a grassy hillside he had found while exploring in Magnolia awhile ago, rather like the one in his dream, only it was night time by then, so instead of a blue sky they saw the stars in the night sky blinking and shining down on them. It was a beautiful sight, thought Lucy, maybe because Gray's presence made it even more enlightening. She hugged his waist tightly, feeling the warmth of his skin on hers. She never wanted to let go. It was a beautiful moment. She'd never felt such comfort since her mother's death...

to Gray's surprise, he felt tears leaking down his chest. He looked down to see Lucy crying.

Alarmed, he asked her what was the matter.

"Oh Gray." she chuckled and wiped her tears. "its nothing. I'm just... so happy. I've never felt this happy since my mother." she smiled up at him.

He sighed in relief. He didn't like seeing her cry. Thankfully, these were tears of joy.

He looked into her hazel brown eyes and fingered her cute little chin with his long fingers. His dark eyes became crinkled around the edges as he smiled. He knew it wasn't always going to be this easy, but he knew he would try his best to make it work with the girl of his dreams. He wanted this more than anything. He wanted her happiness to be the sole purpose of his life. He loved her.

_He loved her._

"I love you, Luce."

She felt her heart blossom into a million tiny flowers. In her heart, she silently sent a prayer to hermother. _Thanks Mom. I have someone that makes me happy now._

"I love you too, Gray."


	8. Epilogue

_**Epilogue**_

_And their lips met, and they didn't pull apart for a long time to come._

_Above them, birds were flying over their heads and the stars twinkled as though they were winking at the entwined couple. Crickets around them sang noisily, as the trees swayed in the cool midnight breeze. Fireflies flickered on and off , creating the illusion of falling stars surrounding them. _

_She had him in her embrace, and the two dozed off into slumber with their bodies intertwined with each other. The two mages radiated an aura of true love for all to see. _

_Above them, the celestial spirits watched over them and blessed them with great happiness and a beholding future for many years to come._

_It was truly a lovely sight. _


	9. Author's Note

_**Author's Note **_

**Hey everyone! Jelisse here! Hope you guys are doing great. As an author's note hasn't been included in this story, I decided you great readers deserve one.**

**Firstly, i'd like to thank the users who have reviewed. God bless every single one of you. To those who haven't reviewed, I kindly ask you to, as this would let me have your views of the story, whether you liked it or not, so on and so on.**

**I'd also like to tell you that there will not be a sequel. Sorry. I tried writing one. It was just uninspiring. Its like this story has enough graylu already yknow? ;) anyways... there might be a new story soon. keep ya fingers crossed!**

**Lastly, i'd like to urge you guys to REVIEW! Its important! Ever heard of symbiosis where both parties depend on each other to live! Its kinda like that! I need your reviews to give YOU an awesome story! See? You help me, I help you! (grins)**

**Oh well. This is just my first story. There will be more to come, I assure you all. **

**I LOVE ALL OF YOU! Keep the reviews coming!**

**Sincerely,**

**Jelisse Armada**


	10. UPDATE!

**UPDATE!**

**Hello fellow viewers! I'm proud to annouce that the sequel will be uploaded, very soon. It will be entitled Reopening Hearts, so look out! **

**I'd like to thank you guys for the support and reviews you've given. I wouldn't be motivated to write without all your great reviews, so as a reminder please do remember to review this story and the sequel, so I can do my best to give you the best stories I can. **

**Lastly, thanks again for every reviewer, may God bless you guys for being so amazing and giving such uplifting reviews, here's some replies to the reviews I've gotten so far:**

**The Aweshum Gurl Jt Star: thanks for both the review honey, it was great having your support. I've updated as fast as I can, and I hope you liked what I wrote. Your support is amazing :)**

**Psyka: thanks! Unfortunately, it wasnt Juvia... but I hope it satisfied you :) updates soon!**

**WishToBeWizard: hehehe well its coming soon, stay tuned babe, its on the waaay :)**

**taniagalvez4: im very happy you enjoyed it, and im touched you think its a great ending :) sequel coming soon! Maybe in just a few hours! **

**So long, for now! **

**Yours forever,**

**Jelisse Armada**

IM SORRY! I DELETED REOPENING HEARTS. MY SINCEREST APOLOGIES... I JUST FELT LIKE IT WASNT GOING ANYWHERE. I get better inspiration for new stories... besides, gray and lucy already have their happy ending... lets write another one for god's sake haha

Jelisse


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